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Is Your Trauma Related You The Real You?

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I wonder whether it has got to do with whether trauma is childhood trauma or not? I mean you have the personality traits that your genome dictates, but that is then switched on/off modified due to environment. If environment abusive you are also learning how it is normal to behave in that way. In my case my mother, narcissist BPD, no boundaries, no emotional regulation, emotionally abusive, always right. Those are the traits I should have mimicked, as children learn from their parents how to behave. But to me her behaviour was mad, but I got traumatised by it. I got the fear, the fight or flight. Was my personality meant to be timid and not confident or confident and outgoing? Who knows? Maybe my genes were supposed to make me confident and outgoing. I sort of admit I have inherited an intelligence dictated by genes I suppose, but most of time think mostly stupid. But my father's behaviour was like he had Asperger's my mother was clearly damaged, so no idea who I would take after? I didn't want to be like them. But my models were them, except my grandmother who was timid and kind and my grandfather who was more outgoing and confident. Not sure about my mother's side. But she was narcissist that is partly inherited. Maybe it is just a conflict between behaviour you have had modelled, plus the trauma effects and then the actual personality you were meant to be. But the behaviour you had modelled and that trauma symptoms are pulling you to those parts. Ok probably utter rubbish. See I just don't know where I come from? In normal family you would see normal behaviour and the genetic disposition meld into one seemingly blended personality. But mad traumatic family where is genes and where is environment? Who am I supposed to be like. Most people can say, I am like my mother, or father or aunt or uncle. Not me. I felt completely isolated in that family.
 
I want to be my Anp and think if it wasn't for the trauma I would be my Anp. I don't like my Ep, that's the part of me that feels emotional pain.

After reading all the comments, maybe the real me is both the Anp and Ep intergrated. I wonder if I will see that intergration in my lifetime.
 
Ha! Yes....it's this, for me:

I tend to think that functional me is the real me and the symptomatic me is hijacked by the PTSD terrorist.

When I'm in the midst of a full on hijacking though - I don't think I always realise/remember that the ANP exists! Then afterwards, when the ANP is back in charge, I'm totally bewildered and ashamed and furious with myself that I let the hijacking happen.

Thanks for starting this interesting thread @stenni. I've been feeling increasingly frustrated with myself about an inner conflict I've been experiencing, but can never really put my finger on...it's a bit like feeling that I'm two different people, who believe totally opposite things, so I never really know which one should "win" or how I can ever feel ok and that I'm making the "right" decision, for example, because whatever I decide to do/choose to believe etc, there will always be one part that thinks the opposite. I don't know if I'm making any sense? But it's something I'm really struggling with.

Maybe it has to do with this ANP/EP stuff. Perhaps I should read up more about it...

Perhaps, as others have said, it's about integration/accepting both. So I experience mine as an inner conflict - as being a battle between what feels like two different people. But now I'm guessing that maybe the goal isn't to get to one part winning and the other disappearing. Perhaps it's just (!) about getting to a point of peaceful cohabitation?!
 
I share the same inner conflict - this thread has been so helpful for me in terms of articulating and understanding what happens to me when I'm "hijacked". I too feel that inner conflict of two people thinking and feeling completely different things about me but both being part of me. I'm trying to recognise when I'm triggered and manage that while brokering some kind of peace deal between the ANP and EP. I fear I may need to call on the UN...
 
I think, from these definitions, the functional me is not the real me, & the symptomatic me is the worst...

Wow, I'm glad you said this! It's rare that anyone outside of my close family (3 people) ever sees the vulnerable me. There are so many ways of looking at this issue. That is, the real me, the hijacked "not me", the real me I show to others, the real me that I still hide away, and so on. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to show anyone the deeper more vulnerable parts of me. For now others can only see (know) the more superficial (surface) parts of me.
 
I agree with you, I don't identify with my "trauma self" at all. I hate that side of me. I don't like being a victim and I don't like feeling sad and fragile and disturbed. Also don't like the hyper-aggression it sometimes causes in me and don't identify with that at all. Like you I also developed ptsd later in life because the majority of what caused it happened to me in high school, so I definitely had a defined personality before that broken side of me was "born."
 
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